Charismatic Leadership - Strengths - Coursework Example

 «Charismatic Leadership – Strengths» Introduction: Leadership is one of the most important factors that affect survival and development among the more advanced life forms on earth today. Leadership exists among humans, animals and even the insect world. All forms of life that live as a group or as a society will have some form of leadership that will help them to lead an organised life. In the animal kingdom, for instance, a herd of elephants will have a bull or a matriarch. Among insects the honey bee has a queen. Among humans leaders appear in a variety of roles in politics, business, religion, and other social fields. In such a scenario, absence of effective leadership will eventually lead to the destruction or at least degeneration of the group or society. Due to their superior intelligence, many styles and forms of leadership have evolved in the world of humans. One of the most effective and probably the least common is a leader who has genuine charisma. There are many examples where charismatic leaders have led nations, societies, and organisations to great heights. This paper will look at the concept of charismatic leadership to analyse whether this form of leadership is always appropriate for organisations. During the process the paper analyses different leadership theories and styles. It will also look at a very important feature of leadership namely decision making. The paper seeks to come to certain and tries to offer recommendations for effective charismatic leadership for the success of an organisation. Importance of leadership: Any organisation is a dynamic system because one of its components is people. This is true whether the organisation is governmental, a corporate, a not-for-profit organisation, or a social one. The people working in the organisation have different levels of skills and knowledge that have to be moulded and organized into achieving its goals and vision. For this, a person or group of persons have to be in control and become the leader or leaders of any organization: “every successful business requires effective leadership to fully utilise the skills of staff in order to achieve the aims of the business” (Improve the Performance of your Staff). This view can be extended to other areas also since managing skills is necessary in any organisational setting. Leadership is much more than just managing people and involves a lot of aspects like motivating and developing followers and their skills. Robin Sharma, the celebrated author of ‘The Monk who sold his Ferrari’ says that “Leadership has nothing to do with the title on your business card or the size of your office. Leadership is not about how much money you make or the clothes you wear. Leadership is a philosophy. It's an attitude. It's a state of mind. And it's available to each one of us” (What is leadership?). This definitely goes along with age old cliché that ‘leaders are made and not born’. Anyone can develop an attitude or a state of mind to become a successful leader if he or she wishes to become one. It would be worthwhile at this stage to define what a leader is before moving on to the topic of this paper. It should be noted that there are many views on what leadership is all about, though most of them agree that it has to do with guiding or leading a group of people to achieve a common vision or goal. In this context “a leader is interpreted as someone who sets direction in an effort and influences people to follow that direction” (McNamara, 2008). The celebrated author and motivator John Maxwell makes it simpler and says that leadership is all about influencing people. Whatever may be the view about leadership, no one denies that it is an extremely important factor in the success of any organisation. The rising trends of globalisation and the resulting competition in the market place have increased the importance of effective leadership in the business arena. Terrorism and other forms of conflict have made the world a more unsafe place as a whole. International relations too have broadened over the years making it important for governments to have mutually beneficial relationships with each other. This requires effective leadership in the political arena as well. Lack or absence of leadership can lead to a situation known as leadership vacuum which is dangerous for an organisation. Since the general rule is that air rushes in to replace vacuum, ineffective leadership may replace an absence of leadership. The next section deals with charismatic leadership, its advantages and disadvantages, and also provide examples or people possessing such qualities in diverse fields such a s business, politics and social work. Charismatic leadership: Charisma like leadership has many definitions, but again has a common thread that runs across each one. It is the ability in individual to lead or influence others due to a special quality that has got nothing to do with the education or knowledge that a person holds. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines charisma as “a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure” (Charisma, 2009). The fact that a person can arouse loyalty is indicative of the influence a leader with charisma can have over his or her followers. On a more personal level, the definition provided by Dr Tony Alessandra is provided here to see whether his definition resembles the one given above with regard to influence. Dr Alessandra is a renowned author and motivational speaker. Charisma, according to him “is the ability to positively influence others by connecting with them physically, emotionally, and intellectually” (Alessandra). Here again the aspect of influencing people, a necessary trait in leadership is obvious. In other words, a person who has charisma coupled with other leadership qualities can be labelled as a charismatic leader. The essential qualities of a leader will be given in later sections of this paper. “Charismatic leadership is defined by Max Weber as “resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him” (Charismatic Leadership (Weber). It is often said that such qualities are not seen in every individual, but is limited to persons who are blessed with them or in some instances as even being a divine intervention. One unique ability of such leaders is to turn complex or difficult concepts into simple and easily understood interpretations. Followers are able to connect to the concepts and ideas put forth by them. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a person attributed with charismatic leadership qualities. His unrelenting quest to rid India of British rule which had been prevalent for hundreds of years was simply translated into the need for freedom by the masses in the country, the majority of who were uneducated and extremely poor. It should be noted that for a rule to end and another one to be put in place is a complex task. Mr Gandhi was able to translate this complex task into something which people could understand, namely the concept of freedom. Many other theorists, psychologists and sociologists have expanded on Weber’s concept of charismatic leadership. According to Robert J House (1976), such leaders have three traits that set them apart from other forms of leadership. Those traits are a very strong need to influence others, having a high degree of confidence in themselves and their own sense of moral values (Approaches to Leadership, 2005, p. 4). Conger and Kanungo further expounds the qualities seen in charismatic leaders. They have a vision which can arouse enthusiasm and confidence in the person’s followers. Another trait is sensitivity for the followers and the environment. Charismatic leaders also have the ability for taking personal risks and exhibiting non-traditional behaviour. According to Burke and Cooper (2004), charismatic leaders arouse enthusiasm and commitment in followers by articulating a compelling vision, increasing follower confidence about achieving it, and linking the task or mission to the values, ideals, and self-concept of follower (p. 86). Later in 1998, a new dimension of character for such leaders was put forth by Gardner and Alvolio. They are of the opinion that such leaders tend to be dramatic or theatrical when speaking to their followers: “charisma is dramaturgical and that the leader is playing a role that has been constructed jointly by both the leader and the followers” (Levine and Kenneth. 2008). The characteristics, ability, and behavioural traits of such leaders have been given here in detail to show situations where such leadership styles are effective. But before moving on to that topic, it will be pertinent to point out the strengths and limitations of charismatic leadership styles. Charismatic leadership - strengths: Due to their ability to influence and enthuse followers, such charismatic leaders in most cases remain unchallenged with regard to their decisions and actions. They have the ability to overrule other’s opinions without providing any logical reasons. This ability is extremely useful when an organisation is going through troubled times and when a total turnaround in operations and processes are necessary. As mentioned earlier, such leaders can effectively put their vision into practice. If the vision is far reaching and positive, charisma is definitely a strength in such situations. Theatrics and rhetorical ability commonly seen in such leaders can have a great influence among the followers. This is especially useful in political and social circumstances. Limitations: Unchallenged authority of such leaders can result in formation of coteries and a group of yes-men. The quality of the followers may decline over a period of time unless the leader exhibits a transformational style of leadership also. Charismatic leaders can turn into narcissists due to the constant admiration from followers. They have to keep themselves in check all the time for avoiding this degradation of character. Personal ethics of leaders with charisma plays a crucial part in the outcome of actions of the group he or she leads. This will be made clear when examples of charismatic leaders and their actions are given later in this paper. Charismatic leaders are in most cases unaccountable for their actions. This is because their decisions remain unchallenged. This can lead to over confidence and even arrogance in such persons. Finally, there is a sense of unpredictability of speech, thought and actions among such leaders. Real life examples of charismatic leaders: There are innumerable examples of such leaders who have led their followers on various occasions and circumstances. Such examples can date back from recorded human history to the present time. It will not be possible to provide a comprehensive list of such leaders in this paper. Hence it is intended that a few examples of charismatic leadership from diverse fields such as business, politics, social, religious, charitable work will be given here. It should be noted that the list may not be representative and any omissions of relevant leaders is purely unintentional. One more point that should be made here is that the choice in mainly personal in nature. Political leaders: There are hundreds of examples of political leaders who have succeeded in their efforts due to charisma. One name that comes especially in the UK is Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He was instrumental in guiding the country through the dark and difficult period of World War II. It was his leadership and vision that was partly responsible for joining of forces between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill himself that led to victory over the Axis powers. Actions and vision of some leaders are can even lead to the formation of nations. One example is the leadership ability of Mustafa Kemal Araturk which led to the formation of the Republic of Turkey. He is considered as the father of the nation in that country and even the name Turkey was derived from the last name, Araturk. One of the great leaders of all time is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. This frail old man had the capacity to make the sun set on the British Empire through the principle of non-violence. A nation that does not fight back with arms, but resists in non-violent ways could not be tackled by might by the mighty British Empire and her army. John F Kennedy who was tragically assassinated at the height of his popularity as President of USA is another example of a charismatic leader in the political arena. In a negative sense, Adolph Hitler was an extremely charismatic and effective leader. His horrific vision of perfect race, through conquer and elimination of certain races convinced a majority of German people into becoming his followers. Business leaders: The concept of business leader is not very old especially since the large corporations and multinationals that are seen today have only evolved since the beginning of the twentieth century. Hence charisma is business is only as old as the business leader. According to theorist, management trainer and author, Jay Conger, the following persons are examples of charismatic business leaders. Jack Welch who was responsible in making General Electric one the largest corporation in the world was a charismatic personality. The maverick Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group of companies that include well known corporations such as Virgin Mobile and Virgin Atlantic is another example. Mary Kay Ash of the famous multilevel marketing company Mary Kay Cosmetics was also a very charismatic lady. Lee Iacocca of Chrysler and Steve Jobs of Apple Computers are other examples. Steve Jobs is very relevant here because a situation with regard to the management of his company will help to arrive at a conclusion for this topic. It will be given in the section titled situational leadership. Social and religious leaders: Mother Teresa, the frail and small made angel of love is an ideal example of charisma in social work. Her work in the slums of Calcutta had won her a noble Prize for peace. Martin Luther King Jr, whose dream of equality and freedom for the black people in the United States had paved the way for far reaching changes in the society and may even be a factor in the election of Barack Obama as the first non-white President of that country. The Rev Billy Graham famous for his energising evangelical sermons was also very charismatic. In a sense, Jesus Christ and Mohammed, both could have been very charismatic, even though no written records exist that corroborate it. It is interesting to note that in most of the cases, the leadership of the above mentioned persons came about because of a single need or because of a particular state of affairs. A few examples are given below. Martin Luther King wanted equality and freedom, Gandhi wanted freedom from British rule, Ataturk wanted a separate nation called Turkey, Iacocca was brought in to rescue Chrysler for bankruptcy. “Consistent with the theoretical positions of Weber and Camic the more recent empirical studies have shown that it is under conditions of stress and uncertainty that charismatic leaders emerge and are most effective” (Jacobsen and House, 1999). Jack Welch became famous because of the particular task of expanding General Electric. Richard Branson is known more for his theatrics and adventures rather than for the corporations he created. This is an indication that charismatic leaders are more effective in handling a difficult and challenging situation. It is also effective when a particular vision or mission is to be accomplished. Other leadership styles and models: Before moving on to a conclusion, a brief review of other leadership styles and models will be done. Leadership Styles: Any experienced employee, manager or student of management will know that business leaders have different styles and approaches in leading their teams: “Fortunately, business people and psychologists have developed useful, shorthand ways of describing the main leadership styles” (Leadership Styles). Some of the important ones are discussed briefly here. A very common style seen mostly in smaller organisations like a sole proprietorship or a family is the autocratic approach to leadership. The leader acts like an autocrat, allowing little or no participation from team members or followers. Fortunately this form of leadership is not very practical and hence not popular today. But it is could be quite effective when unskilled labour is involved. Others are very cautious about being very correct with regard to rules and regulations and hence, this style is referred to as bureaucratic leadership. This style is most suited to high risk situations or jobs. Strict adherence to safety rules might be necessary in such a scenario. A third style is the charismatic approach which has already been discussed in detail. Some leaders seek active participation of team members and accept ideas and suggestions from them. This style is referred to as participative or democratic leadership. This is ideal in situations where a high level of team work is necessary. Hence this is the most popular approach and is also well accepted by employees. Laissez-Faire is a style where the leader adopts a hands-off approach and let followers handle the situation. This strategy will work in situation where the followers are highly qualified and skilled with regard to their duties. It also helps if they are ambitious. Still another style seen is the relations or people oriented approach. The focus is on human resources and the leader will focus on organizing things and performing a supportive rule. This is a variation of the participative style of leadership. Some leaders are so caring that they focus on helping, serving and trying to fulfil the needs and aspirations of the followers. This style is referred to as servant leadership. The influence such leaders have is mainly based on their ideals and values. Probably, Mother Teresa can be cited as an example of this style. Some leaders extremely focused on completion of the tasks before them and hence applies the task-oriented approach. This is useful in project management situations where it is very important to complete the individual components of the project on time and within budgets. The different approaches to leadership mentioned in the previous section pertain to styles adopted by different person in their role as a leader. Over a period of years, theories of leadership also have evolved and many of the styles mentioned above can be categorised according to this point of view. They include the Trait theory, the Great man theory, the transformational and transactional theories etc. Charismatic leadership is a style or approach rather than a theory. But since this topic is concerned with styles rather than theories, this area is not mentioned in the paper. Decision making and Situational leadership: This concept or theory of leadership states that a genuine and effective leader adopts many leadership models and theories as the situation demands. An article on situational leadership points out that “when a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple” (Lingham, 2008). Many factors play a part in deciding what style or model to follow. It will depend on the skill and motivational level of the employees (followers). The article referring to Yuki, states that six factors exist which business leaders look at before deciding on what approach to adopt. The first one is subordinate effort which means the motivation that is given to the employees and the resulting effort of the employees. The next factor is the skill and the ability of the employees and the clarity of roles that exists for each job. The type of work or action and the processes involved comes next. The relationship and cohesion that exists between employees and between management and employees also is a factor. The various types of resources available in the situation (finance, manpower, time etc) will also be considered. The last factor is external coordination which means the relationship the leader and the team has with external forces. So a leader has to look at all these factors before deciding on what role to play or which model to adopt. A single style or model will not work in all situations. This theory becomes more relevant when considering the events that led to the exit and re-entry of Steve Jobs, the charismatic founder of Apple Computers; Steve Jobs and John Sculley – a comparative study of leadership styles: The world famous and exciting organization called Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak during the 1970s. Jobs was charismatic and had many of its associated qualities. He was known to be a motivator and hard task master. He was also a risk taker and innovator. Apple Macintosh had introduced the concept of a personal computer (named Apple Macintosh) which did not exist at that time in the IT market. Apple had a phenomenal growth for a decade. Then IBM decided to enter the PC market along with the concept of licensing its technology which gave rise to the tag IBM compatible. Sensing stiff competition, Jobs brought in John Sculley, a top executive at PepsiCo as CEO of the company. At this stage, the PC market was exploding worldwide and what the company needed was strategy rather than innovation and risk taking. The traditional and strategic approach of Sculley was just right for the company. Moreover, Apple also had its graphical user interface (GUI) system while competitors were using the staid and cumbersome MS Dos. This made Apple very competitive in the market. Sculley became very powerful within the company and the management eventually forced Jobs out of power and position. He sold all his shares except one and left the company he founded. Microsoft soon entered the GUI bandwagon with its Windows operating system. With its partnership with IBM and other major manufacturers, the IBM compatible PC soon began to eat up into Apple’s market share. Some other technologies introduced by Sculley also failed and the company soon found itself near closure. The New York Times article titled ‘Apple Computer entrepreneur’s rise and fall’ opined that “more traditional managers like Mr. Sculley have often proved no more adept at running technology companies than the original entrepreneurs” (Pollack, 1985). A new term was coined to imply unwieldy and stodgy organisations with reference to Sculley. The term was Scullification. The management had no choice but to replace Sculley and bring Jobs back. The situation in the market had changed and the need was again innovation and risk taking. Jobs obliged and rejoined the company. He introduced innovative and bold devices like the Apple iPod which soon brought the company back on its feet. In a highly competitive industry (stress situation) like IT, people like Jobs can be successful. Apple continues its success by introducing new versions of the iPod and the hugely popular iPhone. This is what happens to organisations if they do not change leadership styles to suit the situation. This also lends strength to the argument that no particular leadership style will work in all situations. A right mix and balance has to be there in today’s dynamic environment. President Bush’s aggressive approach was considered to be a success (at least for a long time) in Afghanistan. But the same tactic has backfired in Iraq and he is now considered to be one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States. Situations where charismatic leadership is effective: From what has been discussed above, it can be seen that leadership styles and decision making need to change according to the situation at hand. Literature on charismatic style of leadership states that it is suited to certain specific situations. A charismatic leader will be effective in situations where there is high stress and/or unpredictability in the environment. The followers will be uncertain as what to do and a person with charisma can lead them to overcome them this situation. Charismatic leaders can also be effective in times of rapid change and also where there is low institutionalism (Andras and Erdos, 2001). A study titled ‘The Rise and Fall of Charismatic Leadership’ states that such types of leaders are found more in political, social, and military environments. This type of leadership is not very relevant in business. The study also reiterates what has been said of the situations or environment in which charismatic leaders will thrive. This is best put by Jacobsen and House when they state that “according to sociological perspective charismatic leadership is born out of social crisis” and that “charismatic leaders emerge under such conditions in which potential followers have extraordinary depravation due to the existence of crisis” (Jacobsen and House, 1999). It is also difficult to find people with charisma in sufficient numbers to fill all leadership posts in organizations today. Even if they have charisma, they need not have the mentality, desire or ability to become leaders. In spite of this various types organisations have grown and thrived under different styles of leadership. Conclusion: The concept of charismatic style of leadership has been discussed in detail here stating characteristics, strengths, limitations and the situations where such a style will be effective. Other leadership styles that are suitable for different situations have also been stated briefly here. What emerges is that no one particular style is suitable to handle the diverse situations and environments that one sees in the world today. This holds true in the case of business, politics, religion or social environments. The stress or focus is on a situational style of leadership where different approaches or even a combination can be used to tackle a particular situation. The case study of Apple Computers has shown that charisma (with focus on innovation and risk taking) will work in times of stress and in times where great changes are necessary. Otherwise a traditional strategic approach is what is needed. It can be concluded that charismatic style of leadership is not always appropriate for survival, growth and success of an organisation. Bibliography Alessandra, Tony. 1996-2005. [online]. Charisma: What is it? What will it do for you? Alessandra & Associates, Inc. Last Accessed 31 January 2009 at: http://www.alessandra.com/freeresources/CharismaWhatisit.asp Andras, Peter and Erdos, George. October 25, 2001. [online]. “Environmental Conditions”. Management, Leadership and Charisma. Behavioural Ecology Group. Last Accessed 31 January 2009 at: http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/peter.andras/charisma.ppt Approaches to Leadership. January 14, 2005. [online]. Mary Rozenberg for Leadership Ottawa. 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[online]. Apple Computer Entrepreneur’s Rise and Fall. The New York Tines Company. Last Accessed 31 January 2009 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DA1739F93AA2575AC0A963948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 What is leadership? [online]. Robin Sharma Articles. Last Accessed 31 January 2009 at: http://www.robinsharmaarticles.com/8/What_is_Leadership?/ Read More